The show will feature a sister entering religious life and explore what it means to live a religious profession being “married” to Jesus. Several sisters, including Mother Assumpta Long, major superior, were interviewed. The program’s producers also filmed Masses at which several sisters made their first and final professions and the entry of 22 aspirants into the order.

Life in the order was portrayed during Oprah’s Feb. 9 program. That segment received so many positive responses that the TV talk show host thought it would be a good idea to visit again.

In a statement, the order said it hopes to reach viewers who otherwise would have no exposure or understanding of vowed religious life.

Founded in 1997, the rapidly growing order (now more than 100 members) made headlines recently when it became public that it had signed a purchase agreement with the Archdiocese of Detroit to buy the 100,000-square-foot center Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington and use it as a house of study for its members.

4 Responses

. . .one wonders how the success of a more traditional religious community of women strikes the women in religious communities that have become, if not canonically at least virtually, secular institutes. . .16 years ago an article I wrote about this phenomenon appeared in America (11/5/94), and it would appear that my predictions were correct. . .if you’d like a copy of this article, contact me via the email link on our website: http://www.mitchandkathyfinley.com, and I’ll send you the article as a .pdf file. . .

It is amazing: just a few miles from the motherhouse of the Ann Arbor Dominican sisters is the headquarters of the Adrian Dominicans: average age well into the’60s, maybe the ’70s. The Adrians thought of themselves as being on the “cutting edge” of involvement in activites previously thought “non-traditional ” for religious communities–including living alone. Guess the “cutting edge” has pretty much sliced and diced the Adrians into oblivion. Their choice.